Beater and the Black Cats of the Full Moon
by Sekai -The World
Summary: Continuing the tale of Beater. The Black Cats of the Full Moon still have one more member left standing. He will fight to live. He will live to see the end of this world and find why is this world born. He will find the meaning behind their meeting. Sachi x Kirito x Asuna and probably going to Harem
1. Chapter 1

**Beater and the Black Cats of the Full Moon**

**Disclaimer: I** **do** **not own** **Sword Art Online**

**Warning: I** **am still studying so please** **forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake. It will also be appreciated if you would help correct my grammar mistakes.**

**Chapter 1**

**The Beater**

"That black coat...don't tell me he is the infamous black swordman?"

"That must be him, the beater that always land the last attack out of nowhere and take all the goods."

"I even heard of worse thing about him. See that guild logo? It's the Black Cats of the Full Moon, however all of its members excluding him were dead on the day they saved enough money to buy a house. He must have killed all of them to get the money, what a dangerous guy. Do we really have to work with him?"

"We have no choice, this is the boss room after all. No matter what, ensuring that the number of players survive is our priority. As much as I hate to work with him, he is one of the important clearer that we need to defeat the boss..."

Whispers among players could be heard throughout the forest outside a stone door that was the boss room. This was the 63rd floor and all the clearers had gathered together to prepare for the fight against the floor boss. It did not matter whether they are solo players or from different guild, all of them were gathered for the same goal, to defeat the boss and advanced to the next floor.

However, there were still distrust between players even when they have to work together. There were once a tight tension between the beta-testers and the newcomers. However that tension was dissolved when both groups found a common enemy to hate.

The Beater.

Kirito was prepared for the murmurings about him when he entered the place where they were supposed to gather. There was nothing Kirito could hate about the rumors about him, he declared himself as the Beater that was stronger than the beta-testers so that both groups would focus on hating him instead of each other. He was ready for all the consequences when he walked into the groups of players preparing for the boss fight.

_But the truth is, I don't really care what people think about me anymore._

Kirito made his way towards the wall beside the door to isolate himself from the rest of the players. The players that stood in his path quickly backed away as if they were be cursed if they gotten close to him. He leaned his back towards the door and closed his eyes. There was still quite some time before they would start the operation, it would be better to rest-

_Thank you. Goodbye._

"!"

The words that he had been hearing every time he closed his eyes haunted him. His eyes snapped open and his right hand had reached for his sword. However the hand halted its movement halfway before it reached the sword on his back. He slowly brought it down. Unknown to himself, his hand clutched together into a fist with the nails digging into his flesh. Blood would have flow down his hand if he was in the real world.

"Sachi..." Kirito muttered under his breath. He tried to erase the picture of the girl he had loved from his mind.

He would never be able to forget her, Kirito knew from the bottom of his heart. The only reason Sachi would not disappear from his heart was because his heart refused to forget her. No matter how much painful was it to remember her, he would never be able to forget her. Because she was the girl that he had loved.

And he had failed her.

"Kirito?" A feminine voice echoed in his mind and brought him back to the digital world. He slowly turned his head and stared at the girl beside him.

"...Asuna..." It wasn't a greeting but a mere acknowledgement of knowing that she was here. To the old Asuna she would probably scold him for his manners.

But this Asuna was the one that knew Kirito. She did not know what happen to him but she believe that she was some of the only people that truly know Kirito. That's why she have to support him.

"Good Afternoon Kirito."

"... ..."

Asuna settled herself beside Kirito and simply rested beside him. There were no words to be spoken to each other. Or rather, Asuna felt that simply being there for him would be a better way support him since Kirito was not a talkative person.

Asuna could hear some murmurings about why she was together with the Beater. Unlike Kirito, she was quite disturbed by them. However she tried to keep herself calm because there was one thing that the murmurings was right about.

She also did not know why she prefered to be with Kirito.

"Why... are you still a solo player...?" Kirito startled Asuna by being the one that actually started the conversation. However realizing that it was the same question that he always asked when they met on the gatherings for the boss fight, she calmly answered the same answer she had given him the during the previous floor gathering.

"There isn't any good guild that I feel like joining. Good Guilds don't like to recruit so called fragile looking girls like me."

"Stop lying, I already knew that almost every Guild was trying to recruit you into their Guild. To add on, the strongest Guild in SAO, the Knight of Blood, even invited you to join their Guild repeatedly after floors and floors." Kirito instantly replied.

Asuna felt herself sweatdropped and laughed awkwardly. She always thought that she would be able to hide it from Kirto but it seemed that he knew that she was lying from the start. Then again, she never managed to lie in the real world. Kirito's declaration about the truth dampened her spirit that she could actually lie a little, but not enough to actually divide her attention from a fight.

"Speak of the devil, they are here already." Kirito continued. Following his gaze, Asuna saw the same people that came to invite her to join their group.

"Kuradeel, if you are trying to convince me to join the guild again then please get lost. I have no interest in joining a guild at this point of time." Asuna openly showed her irritation on her face when the man in white and red armor called Kuradeel approached her.

Not willing to give up, Kuradeel ignored the irritated look on her face and said, "I don't believe that you are the type of player that actually prefered solo play Asuna. Our guild leader is even offering you to be the sub-leader of the Knight of Blood. I couldn't see any reason that you should not join us."

"There is but one reason, I don't want to join a guild. Get out of my sight now or else I will seriously consider PK-ing."

Kirito that was hearing the entire conversation twitched his eyebrow when he heard the word 'PK-ing'. He never knew that Asuna's irritation towards the member of the Knight of Blood was this strong. He made a mental note to remind himself to ask Argo to help him to gather some info about this.

_Kirito._

The voice haunted him again but it did not affect Kirito. He is used to this by now. The occasionally haunting of the voice also kept him alert for his surroundings. It hurted him deeply to hear the voice of the one he could never see again but these voice made him felt that Sachi was with him.

As if she was warning him that something was going to happen.

_Kirito._

"Just to let you know, we are not going to party with you this time. All the other parties were already full with only us have one more slot left. We would only let you join us if you join our guild. You are going to be quite troubled if you don't have anyone to party with right?" Kuradeel smirked.

Asuna twisted her mouth, she didn't like where the direction of the conversation is heading.

First of all, to form a party meant that you would be working together as a group which increased your chance of survival. Members would be able to see each other health bar and save each other when the time comes. Because of this reason, even solo players would work together and form parties to increase their chance of survival.

What was disturbing Asuna the most was this reason. In this world, survival was the number one priority. To add on, the Knight of Blood was the strongest guild in SAO. When she was even offered the position of sub-leader, there was simply no good reason for her to refuse to join the guild.

The only reason that was preventing her from coming into a decision was just a simple feeling and didn't feel like to join a guild, which was completely absurd in this world that you battle for your survival.

_Kirito!_

...

"Well?" Kuradeel smirked. He could tell that the situation was going to his flavor. Heathcliff had specifically ordered him not to threaten Asuna into joining their guild but he could not bother to give a damn about it. As long as his objective was complete, the way to do it does not matter. He even had a mind to ask his comrades in Laughing Coffin to help him...

"Fine! I will-"

"Sorry, but we already decided that we would party together."

Kuradeel jumped when the unexpected factor, the Beater interrupted the conversation. Asuna was startled as well. Kirito did not even lifted his head to look at the two when he talk. Asuna was staring confusedly at Kirito, however she quickly adapted into the situation and this time she was the one smirking.

"As you see, I already partied with someone already. So get lost." Asuna said. Kuradeel was fuming, and Asuna knew that.

"Why you- Are you sure you want to party with the Beater? He would definitely use you and then get all the rare drops by himself. Someone like him-"

"Do you have a problem with me? Kuradeel?"

Kirito lifted his head slightly and shot his menacing glare at him. If looks could kill, Kuradeel's hp would have drop to zero even if he was in an anti criminal code effect area. Kuradeel could literally felt his vein shivered under the Beater's glare. He took a step back, his mind could not come up what to do next.

"Everyone gather!"

Instead of the bell, the voice of the Leader and founder of the Knight of Blood, Heathcliff with his huge and imitating shield was standing in front of the crowd calling for attention. Kuradeel quickly used this chance to escape from the two and return back to his party, that was of course after he gave a glare towards Asuna, who did not give a damn about it.

ooo

"So, why did you suddenly invited me into a party? The last time that I could remember you partied was at the 1st floor boss room, the time when we partied together and defeated the boss together. Do you still remember about that?" Asuna asked while checking her equipments and her supply of potions. Kirito did not immediately reply but continued to check his own equipments.

_The voices have stopped... _Kirito thought as he did a final check at his inventory. His eyes felt into a certain item in his storage but he quickly close the menu. After checking that everything was set, he trained his eyes on Asuna and started to think about the incident earlier.

During times, Sachi's voice would enter his head. The number of times would grow when something bad was about to happen. When Asuna was about to agree to the Kuradeel guy's invitation, he felt as if Sachi was in his mind, screaming at him to stop Asuna. Slowly after the Kuradeel guy left, her voice could no longer be heard.

Kirito had thought that he was hallucinating but he did not care. Asuna was partied with him. If Sachi really existed in his mind, she would want Kirito to protect Asuna at all cost.

That was the kind of people Sachi was.

"Ya, I could still remember that I gave you an advice that you never followed, even till now." Kirito replied.

"Come on, I have my freedom to chose to follow an advice. I am more surprised that you actually joined a guil-"

Asuna realized that she said the wrong word but it was too late, the landmine had already been triggered. Kirito fell quiet, creating an uncomfortable silence around them.

"Ah I am-" Asuna attempted to apologize but she was cut short by Kirito who did not turn to face her.

With his back towards her, Asuna was unable to see Kirito's face when he started to talk. "My Guild name is Black Cats of the Full Moon, its members were originally from the same computer club in the real world until I joined in. They were a group of friendly people that I had believed that they would become one of the strongest guild one day. But of course that never came true."

"...What happened?" Asuna asked, when Asuna touched on the subject she knew that there was no turning back anymore.

"They triggered an alarm trap with anti-crystal field. I wanted to stop them but I was too late. One by one they disappeared...Ducker...Sasamaru...Tetsuo...Keita...and Sac...-Sachi...I am the only one left." Kirito's voice wavered. He tried to keep it up but he knew he was going to break down soon.

"But you are not alone Kirito."

Kirito finally turned his back and looked at Asuna. His eyes were red but the tears were not there. They could not be there, not when they were going to enter a boss fight when they could die anytime.

Asuna reached out her hand and held onto Kirito's left hand. Even though their real bodies were far apart, Kirito could feel the warmth in her hand transferring to her. Steadily calming him down. This sensation-

_- was just like Sachi's hands..._

_So even if I die, you must keep on living okay?_

_Live to see the end of this world and to see why it was born._

_The reason why a weak girl like me ended up here._

_And the reason you and I met._

_That's my wish._

"I am also here Kirito and I will not die easily. Let's see the end of this world together." Asuna said with a smile. Kirito did not move but merely stared at the Asuna's hand holding onto his.

_That's right. I have to live to see the end of this world. And to find why someone like Sachi was being sent into this cruel world._

_That's why I have to fight and live!_

Kirito reached for his sword on his back and pulled it out. It was a long black sword that has a sharp edge that threatened to cut anything that stood on its path. Just from the appearance one could feel the power behind the black sword.

"Everyone, let's go!" Heathcliff gave the order and opened the door that led to the boss room. With caution, everyone proceeded into the room.

ooo

"1st platoon switch now! 2nd platoon switch out and recover your hp immediately! You two continue to keep the minions occupy!"

Heathcliff shouted out the orders as the 2nd platoon switched out and the 1st platoon switched in to combat against the boss. The boss surrounded by the 1st platoon from all side was a huge monster with four arms. Two of them carried axes and the other two carried hammers. One of the player that was in the 1st platoon leapt backwards, dodged a heavy blow from the hammer and activated a skill to counter attack the boss. The others were doing the same, slowly decreasing the six health bar above the monster's name 'Four arms'.

'Sword skill: Vorpal Strike'

The system registered the command as it moved Kirito's sword down and cut one of the minions into half. The attack was so strong that it managed to kill it even when it was just half of its life. However the strong attack was exchanged with the long cool down, making him an open target to kill. When another minion came up to replace the fallen, Kirito jumped back and switched with Asuna who began with another skill that dealt critical damage to the minion.

The situation was going well. Too well, Kirito thought. The minions were hardly different from the normal monsters in the small floor. The hp of the boss was also unexpectedly falling faster than normal. Normally he would have used this chance to dealt a heavy blow to the boss and land the last attack, however-

"Asuna!"

"Got it!"

Asuna delivered a quick stab towards the minion's head, landing a critical hit as its hp dropped to zero. Asuna quickly switched out and Kirito switched in to fight against the new minion.

He needed not to go for the last attack this time. As long as Asuna was safe, the last attack was worth to miss it.

But.

_Kirito._

"!"

The sudden voice slowed down Kirito's movement but not enough for the minion to escape its death. Kirito quickly adapted to the sudden voice in his head when Asuna switched.

_Kirito._

_The voices, they are here again! _ Kirito thought as he looked around at the situation. Most of the minions were destroyed and the boss' health bar was reaching the last one. Normally this would mean a sign of victory was in sight.

But everything was ending too fast.

_Kirito._

The voice echoed in his mind again. Kirito watched as the platoons directed by Heathcliff slowly decreased the life of the Four arms. The second hp bar vanished and only one remained. The hp bar slowly turned from green to yellow.

_KIRITO!_

And to red.

A red monster from the 1st floor and a blue haired man flashed across Kirito's mind.

"No! Stop attacking! Its going to-"

He was too late.

The Four arms thrown the hammers and axes away. Two great swords appeared in its hands and it started to slash towards the platoon that was still unleashing their skill. The players could only stare in horror as the great swords slashed through their bodies that was frozen by the system, their hp slowly dropped from green to yellow-

-to red and zero.

"No!"

To his horror, five players started to burn in blue flame before they vanished from this world, and the reality forever. With the sudden death of their comrades, the platoons were in chaos. The monster started to go rampage as it charged towards the nearest player it could find twice of its previous speed and started swung its greatswords around like a whirlwind.

"No, no more!"

"Asuna. No!"

Kirito tried to grab Asuna's arm but he was too late. She ran off like a gust of wind and charged towards the Four arms like a thunder.

_Kirito!_

The voice called me again but he could not care. He quickly chased after Asuna that was recklessly fighting against the boss alone. Even if the boss' hp was red, it would not be easy to defeat it if they had the skill 'Last Berserk'. Last Berserk was a skill that enhanced every stats of the monster when their hp reached red. Bosses that have this skill were rare. They were too complacent and ended up unprepared for the unexpected skill.

"Both of you stop! It's too dangerous to charge alone! Everyone fall back and regroup!" Heathcliff adapted the situation and quickly tried to control the situation. But it was no use, no one except his own KOB was listening to him. Everyone else were in a chaotic state that was slowly picked off by the Four Arms.

'Sword skill: Star Splash.'

Asuna unleashed eight consecutive combos towards the boss' back. However its hp hardly decreased at all.

The Four arms diverted his attention away from the Lancer it was about to land the final blow and swung the right greatsword down. Bearing the title 'Flash', Asuna quickly sidestepped, dodging the strong blow that made a crack on the ground.

However she was unable to dodge the second blow from the left greatsword, her body took the blow completely and flew away before it crashed into the wall. Even as Kirito was racing against the boss to reach her first, her hp was slowly decreasing and barely stopped at the red color closed to the edge of the bar.

_KIRITO!_

'Sword skill: Vorpal Strike.'

The blade of his sword was engulfed with red light as it stretched out twice the length of the sword. He quickly batted away the greatsword that was reaching for Asuna. The boss changed its attention and glared at him. It let out a roar and started charging with the two greatswords in the air.

He could not move. The Vorpal Strike has a long cool down in exchange for its high attack. Like the platoon players that fell victim to the same murderer, his blood ran cold as The greatswords were raised high and-

_**KIRITO!**_

"What-"

_Bam!_

The greatswords slammed hard into the ground where he previously was. The debris that flew out scratched his cheek but it did not deal any damage. From the impact, he could tell that it was a lot stronger than the one that hit Asuna and would have killed him.

_No, it should have killed me._

_**KIRITO!**_

Sachi's voice echoed- no it screamed into his mind. At that moment, his body but not him, narrowly dodged the second blow that was heading horizontally towards him. The blow barely grazed him, but it was still a perfect dodge.

_**KIRITO!**_

Kirito held his head with his left hand while keeping his right hand with the sword at the boss. Ever since he was almost killed just now, Sachi's voice kept on echoing in his mind. As if she was warning him, ordering him to do something.

The boss started to turn and exposed its back towards me. Just what was it-

Leaning onto the wall with a rapier in hand was Asuna, she barely managed to stand up after absorbing a critical hit. The boss began charging towards the defenceless Asuna with its greatswords blood thirsty.

"Asuna!" Kirito shouted. He immediately ran after the boss but there was no way that he could catch up. The boss under the Last Berserk effect was too fast for him. At this rate, it will reach Asuna-

"Ki...ri...t.o..."

Kirito snapped his head at the wobbling figure of Asuna. He wanted to call out to her, tell her to quickly ran away or use a crystal to get herself to safety. Kirito never managed to hear what Asuna was trying to say however-

_Thank you. Goodbye._

"!"

Kirito recognised the word that was forming on her mouth. It was the same phrase that Sachi had last said to him.

The same phrase that he never really heard it from her.

_**KIRITO!**_

No! This time he will not let the history repeat again!

_**KIRITO!**_

This time! This time! He will definitely save Asuna and-

_**LIVE TO SEE THE END OF THIS WORLD KIRITO!**_

"ASUNA!"

Before he knew it, he was starting to run faster and faster, faster than the speed limit of the game. His other faithful companion, Dark Repulsor, was summoned into his other hand. He never touched the inventory menu but it just appeared when he wanted. In a speed that outmatched the boss', he quickly caught up with it and held his ground right in front of Asuna. The boss pulled the two greatswords all the way before it slammed it down. Kirito held his swords up and blocked the blow that was meant for Asuna. The blow was so powerful that it chipped a good amount of his hp.

But now it's Kirito's turn.

"Sword skill: Starburst Stream."

The system assist was confirmed as blue light surrounded the two swords. Kirito charged and launched the sixteen-combo hit skill, one of the strongest skill he have in his dual blade skill slot. Cross, diagonal, horizontal, cut, the blue covered swords danced as they cut through the body of the boss. Unaffected by the constant attack by being an data monster, it roared and slammed its right greatsword down on Kirito.

Upon receiving a critical hit, Kirito's hp went from yellow to red. It slowly reached the edge of the bar-

As if he got a second life, his bar turned fully heal before it continued to absorb the damage until the yellow zone. Not even Kirito noticed about the odd things happening to him. Because this was it.

_**KIRITO NOW!**_

"_**SWORD SKILL: THE ECLIPSE."**_

"Sword skill: The Eclipse."

One of the strongest move that existed in Sword Art Online, The Eclipse. This time his Dark Repulsor was surrounded with pure white light while the Elucidator was covered by black void. Kirito leapt towards the boss and unleashed the skill. In a speed that was impossible for human, the system directed the two swords kept on slashing the boss. The boss gave its final roar before the twenty seventh combo ended the skill and ended its hp bar all the way to zero. The boss slowly vanished into particles, leaving no trace behind.

"Is it over...?" A katana wielder asked no one in particular into the silent room. After the heavy losses, there were no letting their guard down.

Until the congratulation notice that announced that they had won the battle.

"We...We did it!" A loud cheer erupted from the players as they congratulated each other and themselves for surviving through the boss stage and checked their goods.

Meanwhile, Kirito quickly headed towards Asuna and brought her a great potion. Although her hp was extremely low, she still had enough energy to drink the potion and thus healed her hp bar back to full.

"That was amazing Kirito." Asuna complemented. "I thought that I would have died..."

"Don't talk something about that." Kirito smiled and tried to change the topic. He then noticed Asuna was staring awkwardly at him.

"W-What?"

"Kirito, you smiled." In response to the word 'smile', Asuna herself also smiled.

_I smiled...?_ The thought that he smiled startled him a little however it made sense to him.

He managed to save Asuna. He did not manage to save Sachi but he saved Asuna.

That was one thing to be happy about.

"Wait you Beater." A voice called out behind him. Kirito's smile faded as he heard the word 'Beater'. The only people that called him Beater were people that were looking for trouble.

"Do you have any business with me, Kuradeel?" Recognising the voice from the start, Kirito replied as he stood up and faced towards him. Unlike Kirito, Kuradeel barely received any damage and its armor only suffered minor scratches.

"Of course Beater, for an example what is with that abnormal skill of yours?" Kuradeel raised his voice, loud enough to gather everyone's attention as they started to crowd around the three. Heathcliff could be seen standing at the front of the players but made no move to stop Kuradeel.

"I saw it clearly just now. You were holding onto two swords and the system actually assisted you in unleashing the sword skill. Even if you are a Beater, isn't it unfair to not share the secrets of the skill to increase the chances of rate of survival of everyone?" Kuradeel smirked, he knew that the conversation was starting to get into his flavor. The players that gathered around them started whispering around until one of them shouted.

"That's right! You should tell everyone about that skill, you selfish Beater!"

"This is not a sword skill but an extra skill." Kirito replied, his eyes were glaring at Kuradeel. "Unlike normal extra skills, mine is a special one that is unique to one person."

"And how are you going to prove that you are not hiding about the conditions of the extra skill?" Kuradeel taunted. However Kirito already expected that question and looked at the players surrounding them.

"Then how are you going to expand about Heathcliff's Holy Sword?" Even with his name mentioned, Heathcliff did not respond to Kirito's answer. Kuradeel followed everyone's gaze and cursed under his breath. He should have known that that brat still have this guy to excuse himself. But he still have one trump card left.

"Satisfied with my answer?" Kirito asked before he took out a crystal. However before he use the crystal, Kuradeel continued.

"That still do not excuse you for letting the other five players die today."

"What..." Not only Kirito, Asuna stared at Kuradeel in shock. However to him, it's getting into the fun part.

"If you have chosen to use that skill earlier, the other five players might still be alive today! It is because that you hid your so called Unique skill that ended up wasting their lives." Kuradeel continue. "How are you going to pay for-"

"Kirito done nothing wrong. What rights do you have to accuse him for the lives that we had lost?" Before Kuradeel could finish his sentence, Asuna cut it and directed a question back at Kuradeel.

"This does not concern you Asuna." Seeing that there was no good way to answer Asuna's question, he resorted to pull Asuna out of the conversation. "Get away from that Beater. You never know when he would kill you like how he killed his guild members-"

"Shut up!"

To Kirito's surprise, instead of himself Asuna was the one that shouted. The phrase was shouted in such a fierce tone that even gave Kuradeel second thoughts to run for his life.

"None of you really know Kirito. In fact, I don't really know much about him too." In a calmer voice, Asuna continued. "However I know that he is trying very hard to help us get out of this world. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"The thing is everything else about him is wrong." Kuradeel countered."If he could give us more information or use his dual blade skill today, those five people probably would not have died. What does the infamous Black swordsman, the Beater have to say? The lone one that killed all of its guild members."

Kirito's hand twitched however he kept it from reaching the sword. When he chosed the path of Beater to solve the tension between beta-tester and newcomers he was prepared for the consequences. There was actually no need to continue this conversation, Kirito could leave as he like and left the job of opening the new floor to other people.

Except before Kirito wanted to leave, Asuna stood up for him again.

"No, Kirito's guild got other people aside himself." Asuna said, startled Kirito who was about to take out his crystal. Asuna approached Kirito and opened the menu. A moment later, a notification appeared.

_Asuna request to join the Black Cats of the Full Moon_

_Accept? Decline?_

"Asun-Wait!" Kirito shouted when Asuna grabbed his hand and forced his hand towards the 'Accept' button. Even though Kirito was a boy, he did not recover from the surprise fast enough to pull his hand back.

_Asuna has joined your guild._

"And with that, I have joined the Black Cats of the Full Moon." Asuna announced. "If you all try to gang up on him, then you will have to go through me first!"

The rest of the players, including Heathcliff could not wipe their surprise off their face. Asuna was well-known for being 'Flash' and many guilds have been inviting her to join their guild. However she turned all of them down and today she forced herself into another guild.

To make it worse, it was the cursed guild of the Beater she joined.

"Do you know what you are doing Asuna!" Enraged that he failed to recruit Asuna into KOB, Kuradeel did not hide his anger and openly shouted at her. "If you join his guild, you will be cursed and die one day!"

"I don't mind."

"What-"

"It will be a lot more meaningful than joining your guild." Leaving her last sentence behind, Asuna took out a crystal that signified the end of the conversation.

_Let's go._

_Sa-Sachi? _Kirito thought but he knew it must be his imagination. However imagination or not, Sachi's voice has calmed him down. He was still confused by the sudden situation he was in however-

_Live on to see the end of this world _

He would definitely move forward. Continue to stay here have no more meaning anymore. There was only one way like to proceed.

"Teleport to Algade." Kirito made the first move.

"Teleport to Algade." Asuna followed a second later. Unknown to Kirito, Asuna smiled at him for accepting her into the guild.

After a flash of light surrounded their bodies, their bodies disappeared into particles and vanished from the boss room.

ooo

"Someone...No something is interfering with the system..." Within the fifty fifth floor of the steel city of Grandum, Heathcliff sat on his personal seat and thought about all that had happened.

"Kirito...real name Kazuto...No he is not the one that is directly involved to the interference with the system." Heathcliff said to himself as if to clear his doubts in his head.

Then his eyes fell onto the seat in front of him that was meant for the sub-leader. He had planned for Asuna to take over the guild in the future but it seemed that he had miscalculated the 'Kirito' factor.

"Kirito...Asuna...the Black Cats of the Full Moon...This will be an interesting game." Heathcliff smiled. Not everything moved as he planned, however all of it only made the game more interesting.

"I will be waiting for more interesting news about you...Kirito."

ooo

**A/N: DONE! Whew! It took me the entire day plus another morning to finish this, especially the part when Asuna is arguing with Kuradeel. This is definitely some of the longest chapters that I had wrote. Next chapter may not be that long.**

**This is more of a (Sachi) X Kirito X Asuna (with other girls?). The main story will still be about the relationship of Sachi and Kirito. **

**Before I finish this note, just to note to you guys that there will be some difference from this timeline to the actually timeline such as Kirito haven't met Silica, but have met Lisbeth for the Dark Repulsor. Also I took the cooldown in the description of sword skill as the time freeze by the system, I am not sure whether is it correct or not so please remember that.**

**Well if you want faster update, please read and review! Not like I am threatening but giving reviews would boost my writing speed efficiently. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Beater and the Black Cats of the Full Moon**

**Disclaimer: I** **do** **not own** **Sword Art Online**

**Warning: I** **am still studying so please** **forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake. It will also be appreciated if you would help correct my grammar mistakes.**

**Chapter 2**

**Seven Legends**

"This floor is..."

"Algade, the 50th floor of Aincrad. A bit smaller than the starting city but still a messy one. We met each other once in Agil's shop, didn't we?"

Squeezing through the crowds, Kirito held Asuna's hand to make sure that they would not be separated. Of course Asuna was blushing madly at the touch of Kirito's hand but our game addict Beater was very dense in these subjects.

"Ahm...So we are going to Agil's house?" Asuna replied. She prayed for Kayaba that the NerveGear could not sense her embarrassment and showed it on her face. However a glance at a mirror that was hung on a certain shop, gave her another reason to hate Kayaba.

"No. For now we are going to my house."

"(YOUR HOUSE!?)" Asuna almost shouted however her embarrassment kept her voice down.

_This is my first thing holding hands with another boy and now I am going to his house? Aren't things advancing a bit too fast? What should I do? I am still inexperience in such subjects such as romance. Even Lisbeth always teased me about it. What should I do? Should I ran away? But Kirito was a nice guy, he even looked cute. No no no don't let his looks deceive you Asuna! He must be a bad guy! He's even bringing me to his house! But I am the one that decided that I want to be with him...Eh since when did I decide that? Wait I only decided to join his Guild where are we going now!? Wait what am I thinking!? Eh!? Eh!? Eh!?_

"Come on Asuna. We are almost there!" Kirito said while pulling the totally red Asuna through the crowd.

"Wait Kirito! Aren't we rushing things a bit!?" _I only just joined you guild..._

"There is no time left! We must reach my house as fast as possible!"

"As fast as possible!?" _But my heart is not ready yet!_

"Or else that girl will have my head!"

"But-...huh? That girl?" _What girl...? Eh?_

"I will tell you about that later! That's my house!" Kirito shouted while pointing towards a house the was at the corner of the street. It looked plain from the outside but Asuna made a mental note that her house's walls was also as plain as his. Never judge a book by its appearance.

Like how you shouldn't judge Kirito by his appearance. Asuna and a certain rifle user made a mental note about it.

"KIRITO!"

_Bam!_

Suddenly the warmth of Kirito's hand faded when someone suddenly delivered a beautiful flying kick from the side towards Kirito head. Kirito flew towards a lamp post and had his head slammed directly on it. If this wasn't an anti criminal code zone, Kirito would have probably lost half of his hp from that.

The assassin landed perfectly on the ground and proceeded towards the semi consciousness Kirito. Asuna regained from the shock quickly grabbed the assassin from behind.

"Wait who are-" The Assassin turned around. She looked into Asuna's face for a moment before replied.

"Ah nice to meet you. I am Argo, an Information Broker. Now please excuse me for a moment, I have something important to settle with our dear dual blader here-"

"...You sure got your news fast Argo..." Kirito muttered while trying to stand up by leaning into the lamppost for support. Looks like that kick got him.

"Kirito! I heard about the Unique skill! Why didn't you tell me anything about it!? I sold you so many skills and secrets and you couldn't even tell me one secret!?"

"...ah...I...a..m...v..er..y...s..or.r...y...a"

Kirito struggled to form his apology with Argo shaking Kirito's head back and forth by the collar. Asuna wondered what should she do but nothing came into her mind.

"I will let you go for now." Argo said as she released her hands from Kirito's collar. "Looks like I am not the only one with the fast information. We better talk inside your house!"

True to Argo's words, a mass players could be seen squeezing through the crowds and heading towards them. Argo happened to reach Kirito first because she knew where he lived. However now that everyone else know Kirito's whereabouts, there was only one place left for them to hide.

"Asuna quickly!"

"Huh? Ah!"

Kirito quickly held Asuna's hand and pulled her towards his house. The marching like footsteps were getting closer. In fact players with some notebooks on their hand were already in sight.

Kirito quickly unlocked the door, pushed Argo and Asuna in, locked the door.

Just in the nick of time to hear the bashing sound of the people that crashed onto the door.

"Looks like we are safe for now..." Kirito said and sighed a breath of relief. Being an antisocial person, he could stand small company like Argo and Asuna but facing against the entire crowd? He would chose to battle the floor boss alone if given the choice.

_Bam!_

The three twitched when they heard the sound of a mace slamming against the door. However the door was an indestructible object so they did not need to worry about people breaking in.

"First the Beater, second the Black Swordsman and now the Dual Blader? You are becoming a celebrity in Aincrad already."

"Shut up Argo. And the first one is making me notorious not famous." Kirito replied and settled into the single sofa in the living room.

Kirito's house was plain in the outside, plain in the inside. Asuna and Argo both made a mental note to decorate this house when Kirito was unconsciousness. The living room had a long sofa and a single sofa. The girls settled down on the longer sofa and looked around to see if there's anything interesting.

"No I didn't decorate it with anything." Kirito said. He could feel the annoyance of the three person- Wait, he counted. There were only two other person here so where did the third person come from?

_Kirito. Tea._

"Ah. I will go and make some tea." Kirito said as he got up and headed towards his kitchen.

Unlike real life or SAO's normal food, the level to make a perfect tea was quite low that Kirito had actually mastered it unintentionally after having the habit of making one whenever he came back home. If there's any purpose for Kirito to buy a house, first its close to Agil's shop, second it served as a free place for him to return to when he was tired and third, a place for him to have tea alone in silence.

It did not take long for Kirito to come back with a tray of tea. He settled the tea on the table and proceeded to savor the calming aroma of the tea after an exhausting day.

_Red tea is the best~_

Kirito was sure that he was a mad man already so he didn't pay any attention to Sachi's voice in his head. But she helped him a lot of times that Kirito wondered if he was really hallucinating or not.

"Well since dual blade is an Unique Skill so I won't persuade anything more about it however you better repay me with some good information one day Kirito." Argo glared Kirito. However Kirito only noted that Argo really looked like an angry cat that he had once seen outside his house.

"So onto the main topic." Argo calmed down and said. "It seems that the people outside are more interested in Asuna than Kirito. Mind explaining what happened? As far as I know, Kirito don't want to let anyone join his Guild and then Asuna don't want to join any guild. What happened is totally the polar opposite of your idea Kirito, Asuna."

"About that. I also want to hear about your reasonings Asuna. Why do you want to join my Guild. By the way for your information Argo, Asuna forcefully joined my Guild without my consent." Kirito said while starting at Asuna.

"Hehehe..." With two pair of eyes staring into her, she felt as it she was a prisoner being questioned. She could only make an awkward laugh and tried to change the topic.

_You have one message._

_I am saved!_ Asuna thought as she opened the message. Hopefully it was something that could help her to change the topic.

_ASUNA! WHAT DO THE INFORMATION BROKERS MEANT BY YOU JOINED KIRITO'S-_

"Ah it's nothing. Let's continue the topic." Asuna closed the message without finishing it. Argo would be wondering who was it from but Kirito guessed that it was from a certain Blacksmith that made his Dark Repulser.

""Well"" Both Kirito and Argo questioned at the same time, succeeding in stressing Asuna more.

"Hm...Well that's because Kirito kept on urging to to join a Guild..."

"You could have joined the Knight of Blood-"

"But aren't you the one that stopped her? I got friends in KOB you know." Kirito sweatdropped after hearing Argo came up with the perfect reason to protect Asuna. He should have seen it coming when he decided to party with Asuna.

"Well when I hear Kurandeel talking about you Guild. I got very angry at him. Well I am already quite pissed off with him already." Unconsciousness, Asuna let her irritated face shown. Argo updated her information about Asuna the flash with 'Extremely hate Kurandeel.' in her mind.

"So?" Kirito said, he already knew where was this heading to.

"So I joined your Guild to prove that he's wrong. You should try to defend yourself Kirito. What would have happened if I didn't interfere?"

"Kurandeel is right that I killed my Guild members."

"It is nobody's fault that they died Kirito. You did all that you could to save them"

_It is not your fault that we died Kirito._

"... ..."

Kirito fell into silence. Sachi's voice comforted him again. However there was no way that he could forgive himself for hiding his own levels and let them died. He should have realized that Keita wouldn't be able to handle the news. He should have stopped him.

But he should have, but he didn't.

"Kirito. Tell me, why didn't you quit the Black Cats Of The Full Moon?"

Kirito lifted his head up. He could see the Argo was looking at him attentively. Argo had known him since the first floor. Even though Kirito met Asuna first, he met Argo more because she was an Information Broker. Kirito knew that Argo almost knew everything about him. He could also see that she was really concern about him.

"It's to remind myself to never join a Guild ever again." Kirito answered. "It serve as a reminder for why must I continue to live and fight until the Final Floor."

"You are trying to win the game for all those that are lost?" Argo asked.

"No it's not that." Kirito replied. "I have no doubt that Kayaba himself will be the final boss in the 100th floor. When I finally reach 100th floor, I will ask him why did he created this world...And kill him."

"...Kirito..." Asuna muttered under her breath. She could almost feel the hatred that was pouring out of Kirito. It's dark...but she could understand the darkness behind it.

Because she too, want to kill Kayaba.

Of course when the time comes, she was sure that she would not be able to kill him. She would undoubtedly hesitate. She also knew that everyone in this world would want to kill Kayaba for trapping them in this world.

However Asuna could feel it. Kirito was really going to kill Kayaba when the time came.

"Killing the Final Boss will not be easy Kirito. Even with your Dual Blade I doubted that you have the chance of winning him with one Unique Skill."

"...You have something interesting for me don't you Argo."

Argo smirked. It was her signature smirk that she had whenever she have a very important information or skill. Most of the time its skill but in this case, Kirito have the feeling that the information this time was not some random information or skill.

"That's right. I can guarantee that this will be some of my greatest information that I would sell in this game." Argo smiled. From what Argo had previously said, it would be something that would help Kirito. Of course the price was going to be high but-

_-as long as I can meet Kayaba...and kill him._

"If you wanted money I have quite a lot from the drop of the boss just now. It's a pity that there wasn't any special drop but I supposed the money would worth the information. So what's the price?" Kirito asked as he lifted his hand to prepare to transfer money to Argo for the information.

However something else popped up first.

_Argo request to join the Black Cats of the Full Moon_

_Accept? Decline?_

"This is..."

"That's the price of the information." Argo said while smiling. "I already said that its one of the most important information that I would ever find in Aincrad. The price of course couldn't be as cheap as money."

"...I thought Information Brokers side with no one?" Kirito's finger floated in front of the Decline button.

"It's different for everyone." Argo said. "I have always wanted to join your Guild but I never mentioned about it for your personal reasons. However now that Asuna is in the Guild, I also want to be part of it! Besides you need this information, don't you?"

It's Argo the Rat's smirk again. Kirito really wanted to press the decline button.

_Argo has joined your Guild._

"Eh?" To Kirito's surprise, the system announced that he had let Argo joined the Guild. However Kirito's finger was still at the same position before.

_Forget about us Kirito._

Kirito shook his head again. He has been hearing Sachi's voice a lot today. Now that Argo has joined the Black Cats of the Full Moon (by force, Kirito noted to himself), he should ask for the information now.

"So what's this information that is so important that is enough for you to immediately proclaim it as one of the most important ones?" Kirito asked and slipped his tea. The aroma helped to calm his mind down.

"I am sure that you wouldn't be disappointed by this." Argo promised. However Asuna cut in before Argo could proceed with the information.

"Anno...Is it alright for me to listen to the information? I haven't pay anything yet..."

"Don't worry Asuna! From now on we are in the same Guild so the information that I share from now onwards is free, with the exception of Kirito of course!"

"Why am I being excluded!?" Kirito shouted.

"Dual Blade."

"... ...Let's continue with your information."

Kirito gave up and sunk back into his chair. Argo had a satisfying smile before she began her story of the information.

"It happened just a few moments before I got the news about your Dual Blade. I was leveling in 60th floor, the floor with a lot of mist remember? Since the mist was too thick at that time, I could only rely on my map to try to head back to the town. However when I opened the map, nothing was shown and I was in a total loss what to do."

"Wait." Kirito interfered. "What do you mean by nothing appeared in the map?"

"I meant literally Kirito." Argo continued. "I only have a blank screen when I tried to open the map. Even my teleportation crystals weren't working too. To be honest, I was very afraid. I thought that I would die alone in such a gloomy place until _he_ appeared."

"Who is this _he _you are talking about?"

"Remember the NPC for the martial arts extra skill? He was the one that appeared out of nowhere from the mist and approached me."

"The one that trapped me in the mountain for three days and three nights and trapped you for nine days and nine nights?" Kirito could still recall the incident. After he managed to split the rock, he forced Argo to take the quest out of his anger. Though this proved to turn back at him when he was forced to look over Argo for nine days and nine nights. It was thrice the amount of time that took him to split the rock.

"Oh just shut up about it!" Argo turned red upon remembering the memory. Asuna was the only one that was clueless about what they were talking about.

"As I was saying, I met that NPC again. However that guy has the gold-colored [?] on his head even though I finished the quest last time. Seeing that I was running out of options, I talked to him to see what's happening."

_Flashback_

"_You are the NPC from-"_

"_Does Thou want to hear a story of this old one?"_

"_... ...Yes."_

"_Even though your life will be changed forever after hearing this story?"_

"_...Yes."_

_After a short conversation, the [__**?**__] above the head of the old man changed into [__**!**__], it indicated that Argo had accepted the old man's quest._

_Argo could feel that the mist around her has thickened as if cutting her off from the world of Aincrad. However she had no time to be concern about that when the old man start talking._

"_A long time ago in Aincrad, a dark dragon called Jabberwock invaded into the clouds of Aincrad and finally Aincrad itself. It was a being that was purely made of evil and only live to destroy. Many lives were lost when the Dragon destroyed floors and floors of Aincrad. What you see in this floor was one of the floor that the dragon destroyed and inflected with part of its evil spirit. _

_When the Dragon was about to destroy the entire Aincrad, seven champions appeared. They were the best among the best in Aincrad. Each of them possessed Unique Skills that only the chosen may wield. The Seven of them worked together and managed to defeat the dragon, at the cost of their own death._

_However, those Unique Skills were passed down to the new warriors that visited this world. Three of them has been found but the other four were still finding their chosen one that may wield them._

_Even as we speak, the dark dragon Jabberwock is reviving and one day would come back to destroy Aincrad again. To defeat the Jabberwock and protect this world, would you devote your life for the sake of finding warriors to possess the Unique Skills?"_

_The [?] symbol appeared again. There was no need for Argo to hesitate at all. He was talking about Unique Skills! This have to be some of the most information that Argo could find in this world. The mist that was surrounding her and her inability of using map, it was all part of the plan to lead her to the old man. As an Information Broker, this was an information she couldn't effort to miss._

"_I accept your request!"_

_Flashback end._

"Surprisingly, the quest is a Guild quest that can only be completed by a Guild with more than two people. You should be able to see the quest in your quest list by now."

Argo finished her recounting and opened her quest list with the others doing the same. To Kirito and Asuna's surprise, there was indeed a new quest added in their empty quest list.

_Quest: Seven Legends_

_Phase 01: Mother Rosario_

_Summary: Absolute Sword_

_Reward: Starting of Phase 02, Fist of Ashura  
_

"Mother Rosario?" Asuna muttered the name. It was in English and quite foreign to her. Neither did the other two players in the room knew what the name meant.

"I am more interested in the summary. 'Absolute Sword'? Argo do you have any information about this?" Kirito asked after reading the quest.

"Although it's against my pride as an Information Broker to say this but..." Argo sighed. "Sorry, I have no information on this Absolute Sword. There's a possibility that it is on a higher floor so that's why nobody know about it yet. I will do some investigation to see if any of the NPCs in different floors know about the tale of the Absolute Sword."

"Thanks Argo. I think you better teleport from here. Going for a walk outside isn't really a wise option." Kirito said while pointing at the door where muffled sound of different weapon smashing the door could still be heard.

"Will do." Argo said and took out a teleportation crystal. "Teleport to starting city."

"Wait you are going to the 1st floor?" Asuna asked.

"Well since its the 1st floor, there might be secrets that we players on the front line never get this chance to discover it. Its the largest city after all. I will PM you two when I find out some information. Till then, bye bye!"

After a flash of light that surrounded Argo's body, Argo vanished from the room, leaving only two more occupant in the room.

_Wait...now that Argo is gone...DOES THAT MEAN THAT KIRITO AND I ARE IN THE SAME HOUSE ALONE!?_

Asuna blushed. This was the first time she was alone with a boy in his house. Suddenly she had the urge to pull out her teleportation crystals and chased after Argo... ...

"Now that Argo is gone...with the door not an option there's only one thing we can do...Let's sleep until the crowd is gone." Kirito said while changing out of his armor with a touch of his finger on the menu.

_Sleep!? Together!?_

"I will take the so-"

"Ah I should chase after Argo! I suddenly remembered that I have something to ask her so bye bye! Teleport to Starting City!"

"Wait-What?"

When Kirito responded, Asuna already teleported back all the way to the first floor. Leaving only the Beater in his own house alone. Looking at his menu where a blanket was there, he started to think.

_Did I do something wrong? I only wanted to invite her to sleep in my bed while I take the sofa..._

_Of course it's wrong! I never knew that you were that dense Kirito._

_I am...dense?_

Sitting on his (their) sofa while enjoying his (their) tea, Kirito has an interesting time chatting with himself (her). Although he knew that it's insane for him to talk to himself, it's better than trying to imagine when could he step out of his house. He hoped that he won't have to use teleportation crystals whenever he came back.

ooo

Unknown to anyone in the Aincrad or in the real world except to one, Kayaba Akihiko woke up from his life in Aincrad and returned back to the real world. The only person that was beside him was Rinko, his personal assistant that he was willing to entrust his life to.

"I am back Rinko. Did you find what is the bug?" Kayaba removed his NerveGear and sat up on his bed. Beside him using the computer, Rinko turned her head towards the just woken Kayaba.

"No I haven't find anything that is out of normal except for the restriction on the player Kirito during the boss fight last time. But I want to ask a question. Why did you deliberately give Argo the quest that is originally designed to appear in the 90th floor? Aren't you rushing things a bit?"

"Because that guy is there." Kayaba smiled while looking at the screen in front of his bed.

In the screen, a guy in black clothing sat on his sofa and drank his tea silently. It could be seen that the person in subject was in deep thought. The guy slipped the tea, only to realize that it had became empty and proceeded towards the kitchen. The screen followed him to the kitchen to watch him made tea.

"That Kirito guy? You sure have a lot of interest in him don't you? Even after hearing that he is going to kill you."

"That's why I am so excited Rinko." Kayaba smiled. "Among the seven unique skills, only the Dual Blade has the ability to face Holy Sword in a fair fight. The Menace Scythe may be dangerous but I am sure that it's user has no intention to end the game. Well he is a Pker after all. I can't wait for the time when Kirito to finally fight his way up to 100th floor to kill me."

"Even if it will mean your death?"

"That's what make Sword Art Online the best game that existed. It's not a simply virtual reality. It's a reality. I would rather risk my life to play this game than just watch it from the side lines. After all,

_There's nothing more boring than watching someone else play a game._

ooo

**A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys! 21 Reviews! There seemed to be some confusion about this story so I will make clear some of it here.**

**-A lot of you thought that Sachi somehow is like Yui...that is something unexpected...**

**-The original Black Cats of the Full Moon died by following the novel. I never mentioned Keita died by commit suicide because to Kirito he still let him down too like the others.**

**-Well in a certain side story, Kirito mentioned that SAO's reinforce rules are scary to both the blacksmiths and players. Since this a game where people will get killed. I assumed that Kirito would automatically get the title of the leader of the Guild with no one else left to replace Keita.**

**-Kayaba's assistant's name is not Saika. She is from somewhere in the novel but I can't remember where. Can anyone tell me about it? I will change it once I have the name.**

**And on a side note, I have planned out the seven unique skills. However the phase 02's one is a fist skill, pure fist skill that can block swords or something like that. Can anyone help suggest a name? When I got a good name I will put it up in the chapter behind the Reward: Phase 02**

**And to answer some reviews! (To some reviews that have questions. I shall thank those that bothered to give a small review. Even it's short, it showed that you cared for the story :) )**

**xtenchix: Thanks for the news! We should try spreading review News report in other story sections LOL. The News will be interesting if you add random news like what happened to the guy that is smashing Kirito's door outside.**

**Fangking2: That's the plan. Thinking about letting Sinon into the story. Do you think I could classify her as a ninja? Her cold attitude would suit a ninja...maybe**

**Kuromoki: I answered above but I will thank you here to remind me to emphasise the rules about it.**

**otakuheaven123123: Ya the story is going a bit of AU story but don't worry, I won't change that much to the story except for adding my personal Unique skills and future characters of the SAO novels.**

**Thanks for the reviews and please read and review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Beater and the Black Cats of the Full Moon**

**Disclaimer: I** **do** **not own** **Sword Art Online**

**Warning: I** **am still studying so please** **forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake. It will also be appreciated if you would help correct my grammar mistakes.**

**Chapter 3**

**Absolute Sword**

"I am quite surprised that you would come along. I thought for sure that you were going to keep Kirito company." Argo smirked. "_Alone especially._"

"Ther-There's nothing between us!" Asuna blushed in embarrassment upon knowing she mumbled. Argo laughed as they walked side by side in the Starting City.

Asuna realized that the City of Beginning has changed so much since she left and became determined to clear the floors. There used to be a lot of players loitering around, hoping in false hope of one day to be saved. However now, those players seem to have disappeared and only a few players and members of the 'Army' are happily chattering around. The despair atmosphere that once haunted the City of Beginning was gone.

"Things have changed so much for the City of Beginning..." Asuna looked around, occasionally eavesdropping into the loud conversation of other players. "Did something happen?"

"Ah so you don't know? Well I guess information like this is not really valuable to the players at the front line." Argo said. "I don't have information when did it happen but Thinker, the leader of the Army, decided to help everyone in the City of Beginning. I heard it took a long time but almost everyone joined the Army. Even though the Knight of Blood is currently the strongest guild, my bet is that the Army has at least two times larger than the KOB. Though most of them are middle level players, the Army really helped to improve the situation in the City of Beginning."

"So it's thanks to the Army...I always have a bad impression about them for some reasons..."

"That must be because they stopped helping the clear the floors after they suffer heavy losses at the 25th floor." Argo continued. "Rather than clearing the floors, the Army is now concentrating on helping those below so it's natural for clearers like you to see them like that. Ah we are here."

Asuna stopped after Argo. Looking ahead, there was a small church that Asuna never seen before in the earlier days. The City of Beginning was a big city after all.

"This is..."

"This is a church where my friend lived." Argo explained as they headed towards the door. " When the game started, most of the children suffered terrible psychological trauma. She decided to take them in and took care of them in the church. I must really comment that she is really some of the people that I respected the most. I wouldn't be able to do something like that."

"That's really kind of her...I never thought about the children who were left behind at all..." Guilt swelled inside Asuna. She felt horrible that she did not try to help those other children that are left behind in the City of Beginning at all.

"Ah Argo! It's quite rare to see you here, how is the front line?"

Argo and Asuna halted their movement and turned their head back towards the source. Catching up from the back was a silver haired lady in green uniform of the Army. Even though it's has been months since Argo saw her, as an information broker she does not forget friends easily.

"Yulier! It's has been such a long time! Are you here to deliver the food?" Argo replied cheerfully as she met her old friend.

"Yes. I happen to get a lot of food today." Yulier smiled and turned towards Asuna. "This is..."

"Ah let me introduce her to you! This is Asuna the Flash, currently my guild mate!" Argo then turned towards Yulier. "Asuna this is Yulier. She is the second in command of the Army and the one that brings food to the church for the children."

"I am Asuna. Nice to meet you." Asuna said. "Thank you for helping all those children."

"I am Yulier. It's nothing, I am just doing my duty as the member of the Army after all."

"Let's enter the church first shall we?" Argo suggested. "I believe that there is much to talk about and it would certainly be nice to talk it over some tea."

* * *

"The Absolute Tree?"

"Yes that's where the children have gone to." Sasha answered as she returned with a tray of tea. After giving out the cups, she sat down and continued the conversation.

"So it's the Absolute Tree...I guess its one of the famous place for people to gather nowadays..." Yulier muttered after hearing the name.

Among the four, only Asuna and Argo did not understand about what they are talking about. It kind of hurt Argo's pride as an information broker but she ask either way.

"What is this 'Absolute Tree'? Is it a new gathering spot?"

"What's this, there is actually Argo don't know about? I thought you would have heard of the rumour already."

"Shut up..."

The three laughed as Argo covered her embarrassed face by slipping her tea. Sasha stopped laughing and started talking.

"It happened a few weeks ago, a mysterious female player that called herself Absolute Sword appeared under the tree at the plaza and challenged the players there to beat her. The tree that she always waited under was thus named after her. At first the Army thought of her as a joke but they started to get fired up when none of them could beat her."

"In addition for your knowledge, Thinker and other high level players are probably fighting against her right now. I already lost count of how many times he lost but he was stubborn to keep on trying." Yulier added on, obviously annoyed at her commander's stubbornness.

"Why are they so persistent in fighting against her? There must be a reason for them to not give up right?" Argo asked and hit the spot.

"That's right. The player said that anyone that managed to beat her she would reward him or her a high level sword that reached 800 attack."

""800 attack!?""

For Asuna and Argo, this was big news. A weapon that reached 600 attack is considered a good weapon. Asuna was proud of her Lambent light that reached 700 attack with her friend Lisbeth's help. However a weapon with 800 attack was unheard of. It could only be from a boss drop item for it to reach that high. In fact, a sword with 800 attack seemed ridiculous with their current frontline just at 63rd floor.

However the player in question was Absolute Sword, the name that was mentioned in their quest. And if the 800 attack sword really existed...

"Although nobody really know if she really possesses such a powerful sword, it was obvious that she was a high level player from how she fought. That's probably why everyone is so eager to fight her for the sword. Though they seem to be relying on luck more than their own skills now..." Yulier commented.

"Is that person still there right now!?" Asuna asked eagerly. There was no way she was going to let go of this chance.

"Let's see...it's already near evening already...You should be able to catch the last battle if you hurry. Since I am going to pick up the children, shall I guide you two there?" Sasha said.

""Please do!""

* * *

"I got you~!"

"Wha-Argh!"

Turning around a corner, Asuna and her friends were just on time to catch a player that challenged the Absolute Sword being blown away from the impact of a skill. The four were frozen on the spot until Yulier quickly ran towards the fallen player.

"Thinker!" Yulier called as she helped the player up from the ground.

_So he's the leader of the Army, Thinker..._

Asuna made a mental note for herself to respect the Army more for helping the lower level players before turning her attention back to the Absolute Sword again. The girl in question has long dark purple hair with a red hair band on the top. To Asuna, she expected a lady with professional swordsman aura but...

...To Asuna, she was just a little girl, like her.

"So, are there anyone who wants to challenge me before I rest for the day?"

With a high and lovable voice, the girl called Absolute sword called out to the crowds. To Asuna, Absolute Sword was like an idol that was surrounded by her fans which was mainly made up of the children and the Army who were spectating the show.

"I would like to accept your challenge."

Spoken out loud with a clear voice filled with confidence, Asuna readied herself and approached the girl. Upon drawing her faithful companion Lambent Light, there were already murmurings from the crowds. Even at the City of Beginning, there was nobody who did not hear of the legendary 'Flash' in the frontlines.

The cheer became louder as the crowds started to become more excited after seeing the legendary Flash appeared. Cheers calling for names of both people could be heard.

"It's quite rare for me to have a female competitor! So are you going to accept my challenge?"

The girl's overconfidence provoked Asuna. Although she would have wanted to describe her as having naive confidence, she recognised that the girl in front of her was not to be underestimated.

After a while, a request for duel popped up in her window. The top row said,

"_Yuuki is challenging you."_

_So her real player name is Yuuki?_

In SAO, there were 3 modes selectable at the bottom of the window. Beginning from the top, they were «First Strike Mode», «Half Loss Mode» and «Total Loss Mode». In SAO, obviously losing all your HP was out of the question, even if it was half loss mode, it was possible to reduce someone's HP to the danger zone if the finishing hit was a critical hit.

Thus the only option left was the «First Strike Mode». The winner was decided when the player delivered a proper attack to his or her opponent.

The countdown for the duel appeared and started counting. While waiting for the duel to start, Asuna took this chance to take a good look at her equipment.

Absolute Sword's weapon was a thin, single-handed, double-edged straight sword. It was translucent with an obsidian black hue like her armor. Judging from the radiance and details, the weapon's level was more or less the same as Asuna's rapier.

Even if her sword really has 800 attack, it would not be able to help much in a «First Strike Mode» duel as compared to Asuna's light rapier. In a «First Strike Mode» duel, the key factors for success were flexibility, speed and reaction time. Weapons and armor did not matter match in a duel where you only need to score a complete hit to win.

The countdown was reaching the last ten seconds, Absolute Sword held her sword in front of her waist, a stance suitable to block any first attack. Asuna held her rapier horizontally towards Absolute Sword, already aiming for a quick thrust towards her.

Asuna held breath and breath out. It has been such a long time since she was this excited for a duel.

The instant the countdown flashed '0', the sound of two swords clashed pierced through the silent suspense. To the crowd, everything seemed to be a blur as they could only catch the colours of white and purple clashing each other.

However to Asuna, she was able to keep up with every movement of the Absolute Sword.

_No...I am barely keeping up!_

Asuna willed herself to move faster upon realizing the difference between them. For the first time, Asune met someone who was able to move faster than her. Asuna haven't challenged Kirito yet but-

_-this girl, she is not only a high level player but a professional one too!_

After deflecting Asuna's continuous attacks, Absolute Sword raise her sword to counterattack when Asuna's rapier was just batted away. Fully well anticipated the blow, Asuna immediately leapt backwards, barely dodging the sword that threatened to hit her chest.

However Absolute Sword's attack did not stop there. Without giving any time for Asuna to recover, her sword flashed forward like a thunder. It was an unavoidable thrust. Asuna's footing have not balanced enough to dodge and it would be too late to be blocked with her rapier.

However this was only to the eyes of the audience and the Absolute Sword.

Even though the crowds were expecting Absolute Sword's victory, Absolute Sword caught a glimpse of Asuna's right hand.

She let go of her rapier.

"Wha-"

"_Sword skill: Embracer."_

The moment the rapier left her hand, the sword skill was recognised as yellow light surrounded Asuna's unarmed hand and thrusted forward, just in time to bat away the 'unavoidable' thrust.

Absolute Sword's surprise costed her the chance to counterattack Asuna when she was in recovery mode for less than split second. Even before the Lambent Light touched the group, Asuna picked it up in midair and used a simple 'Thrust', not threatening but managed to drive Absolute Sword for combat space.

Asuna mentally thanked Kirito for telling her to learn and master the unarmed skill 'Embracer'. An unarmed skill only works when the player was unarmed. In this case the system registered Asuna as unarmed when her rapier left her hand thus enabled her to use unarmed skill. This was the first actual time she ever used in battle. However Asuna was sure that any unarmed skill would not work again. It was by good luck that Absolute Sword was distracted by the sudden change of skill and did not use that chance to deliver a counterattack.

"That was a good one miss! It's getting late, how about we end this with a sword skill?"

To Asuna's surprise, she never thought of such proposal coming from the enemy. Something about the Absolute Sword's unwavering smile bothered Asuna. Asuna currently possesses 'Star Splash', a high-level one-handed thrusting sword skill with an eight-hit combo. From Asuna's frontline knowledge, she was the only one who has obtained 'Star Splash'. When Absolute Sword unleashed her skill, Asuna would deflect them with her skill and be the one that delivered the last hit.

"That's fine by me. Here I come!"

"_Sword skill: Star Splash."_

"_Sword skill: Mother's Rosario."_

_That stance! I never seen a skill for that stance before!_

Asuna's thought screamed in her mind as she could not recognised the stance with the sword growing purple while being pulled back. Her mind told her to switch to defensive to block the incoming blow.

However it was too late, the system assist has caught Asuna, rendered her movement solely for the purpose of the 'Star Splash' sword skill. Asuna was still forcing her legs to dodge when she was charging towards Absolute Sword. The skill controlled Asuna's hand to swung the rapier up and an intercept course with Absolute Sword's sword-

_Ping!_

"Wha-"

Asuna did not manage to finish her sentence before the purple sword slashed her from her left shoulder all the way down to the bottom right. Even as being slashed, Asuna could only stared at her own hand where her favorite rapier once was. The rapier was only left with the handle and soon disappeared in particles like only other players who have died.

"ASUNA!"

Argo's loud scream awoken Asuna from her thoughts about her Lambent Light. Asuna was just in time to see the second blow com-

This was when Asuna noticed, her vision was red.

"ASUNA!"

"SYSTEM COMMAND! HALT SWORD SKILL NOW!"

Asuna's vision was still red when the purple sword was being swung down. Just when she thought she was finished, the sword skill actually stopped directly in front of her, missing her by hair breath.

"Asuna!"

Argo quickly jumped from the audience and rushed towards Asuna with a full potion in her hand. She was then quickly followed by other players. Asuna sighed a breath of relief when her health returned back to full, restoring her clear vision.

However it hurted her when she realized that there was nothing on her hand anymore.

"...I am sorry miss. I had no idea that I would deliver that much damage..."

The Absolute Sword's voice caught the attention of everyone as they stared at her in fear and in confusion. Even the children were starting to back away from her. Argo caught into and wanted to drag Asuna to safety before Absolute Sword could make any dangerous move that almost killed her friend.

However Asuna would not budge.

"You...Your name is Yuuki, isn't it? May I call you that?"

Asuna stood up and faced Yuuki, refusing to give in to the budging of her friend. Eventually Argo stopped pulling her but kept a close eye onto the mysterious girl.

"Yes, you may call me Yuuki...About just now-!"

"It's your win Yuuki, there's nothing to be sorry about." Asuna interrupted Yuuki before she could apologize.

"But-"

"However, I want to know about the system command you shouted earlier." Asuna whispered so that only the three of them could hear, her eyes focusing on Yuuki's. "You forcefully stopped your sword skill to save me didn't you? Could it be that...you are a GM?"

"..."

"...GM!?" Beside Argo exclaimed in a whisper. She looked at Yuuki who refused to give back a reaction.

"So you are really-"

"That's not it Asuna."

Before Asuna could finish her sentence, Yuuki cut her off. In a swift movement, she kept her sword into its scabbard and stood in front of Asuna and extended her hand.

At this moment, a '?' appeared on Yuuki's head.

"You are-!"

"Nice to meet you Asuna. I am Yuuki, the Absolute Sword and the bearer of the Mother's Rosario."

* * *

"I never knew that there was an underground dungeon under the Black Iron Castle..."

"That's because this dungeon was meant to open after you guys cleared the 70th floor." Yuuki explained. "I forcefully open it so that I could let you finish my starting monster are only at level 60 so it shouldn't be a problem you girls. However you must be more careful when we enter deeper into the dungeon."

After the ruckus under the tree at the plaza, Asuna accepted the quest from Yuuki and the three of them, including Argo, are now inside the dungeon under the Black Iron Castle. Thinker and Yulier wanted to come along but Yuuki stopped them, telling them that it's a guild quest and the dungeon level was too high for them.

However before going in, someone in the Army made a ruckus about the dungeon was the Army's property and should not be given to them. Although Thinker managed to settle the problem swiftly, Asuna remembered that that person was Kibaou, the player that started the tension between the beta players and the normal players back in the first floor battle.

Something about him give a bad feeling to Asuna. Asuna made a mental note to watch out for Kibaou if decided to do anything to them when they were inside the dungeon.

"So Yuuki what is your quest about?" Argo asked. "Even though we accepted your quest, there was nothing written except 'Follow Yuuki' on it."

"That's because the quest may change according to situations." Yuuki answered. "For now, our goal is to reach the the deepest part of the dungeon to defeat The Fatal Scythe. He is a high level monster so I recommend that you two retreat to the safe zone when we encounter him."

Yuuki then brandished her straight sword, signalling Asuna and Argo to be ready for battle. Since Asuna's Lambent Light was destroyed, Argo lent Asuna a blue rapier she got from a monster drop. It was definitely not as good as Lambent Light but it would do for the current situation.

Asuna wanted to return to her own to pick up a more suitable weapon but Yuuki was against it. She said that there's no time left and the quest could only be completed before the clock strike twelve.

"Frogs...can't they spawn better looking monsters..." Asuna complained as she stared disgustingly at the frogs that spawned.

"Well it's a lot more better than something like slime. I fought a slime before, or in terms of my programmed memory anyway, they are some of the hardest monster you don't want to face regardless of their level." Yuuki said.

""A slime, dangerous!?"" So far Asuna and Argo have not encountered any slime at any floors so they were quite shocked to know Slime was a hard level monster when in other games it's the weakest like the boar outside the City of Beginning.

Before Yuuki could answer, the frogs started to charge- or rather, jumped towards them. Determined to not use any unarmed skill towards monsters like that, Asuna and Argo with Yuuki in the lead charged forward to meet the attack.

... ...

Everything ended in one minute.

"Slime is actually a 80th floor monster. They are fluid and don't actually have a body so regular attacks don't work on them. Heck even sword skills bare deal damage unless you are really at close range with the slime. Worse of all, they exploded when they died, making you all sticky and...slimy until they really register the slime as 'dead'..."

Even though Yuuki was the one with actually experience, Asuna and Argo shivered at her story. The thought that the day slime would become a high level monster never occurred to them and they were certainly not anticipating to find out.

"By the way Yuuki..." Asuna muttered as they continued to head further inside the dungeon.

"What was it Asuna?"

"...Is there any meaning to defeat The Fatal Scythe within a time limit?" Asuna asked. "Does it drop special items or open a new dungeon when defeated?"

"As expected of Asuna! You understand the situation clearly." Yuuki smiled.

"Actually I should only be allowed to appear only after you players cleared the 90th floor. However something happened...maybe a bug? Anyway since I am a high level swordsman so just leave The Fatal Scythe to me!"

"What happens when you defeated The Fatal Scythe?" Argo asked.

"After I defeated The Fatal Scythe, I will finally become a player..."

""A player?""

A NPC turning into a player, this was something that even Argo never heard of. All the NPCs that Asuna and Argo had met were normal NPCs with programmed lines. Some were given special behavior but they would never change. A cheerful clerk would remain a cheerful clerk, a dull master would remain a dull master.

However Yuuki was not like that, she was nothing like a NPC. Just now they were just happily chatting together like friends. It's hard for Asuna to accept that the Yuuki she has been talking to was actually a programmed person that did not exist.

But if Yuuki was a player...

"As a NPC, I really don't know why a quest like this was set up for me. However I am really happy that I would be able to become a player. Currently as a NPC I am restricted to only the 1st floor. When I become a player, I am going to the frontlines to fight against monsters and meet other swordsman! There's so much I want to do as a player that a NPC would not able to do!"

As if feeling that she was already one, Yuuki skipped around and continued to talk about what she was going to do in the future. Something about fishing and picnic were included too. Asuna and Argo could not help but smiled at the little girl's adventurous and cheerful attitude that brightened up the trip.

"Neh Yuuki, have you given a thought about which guild you want to join?"

"Guild?" Yuuki repeated. Asuna nodded.

"One of the best thing about RPG have to be fighting in a guild, isn't it?"

("Didn't you only joined like, this morning?")

("Shut up Argo, you joined later than me.")

("Rather than that, is it already to recruit member without Kirito's consent?")

("What does he have to complain about adding another cute girl into our guild?")

Although Asuna would never thought that those thoughts would haunt her in the future when the guild became bigger, for now it is just a funny joke among the two girls.

"Yuuki when you become a player, do you want to join my guild, the Black Cats of the Full Moon?"

Asuna invited as she stepped out in front of Yuuki and stretched her hand. Looking at her hand, Yuuki stared at it for a moment.

She then jumped and tackled Asuna, making both of them falling into the ground.

Still smiling with a happy smile, she hugged Asuna and replied.

"Hehehe~ I would love to!"

* * *

"Urgh!"

"Thinker-Ah!"

Yulier cried as she felt herself being punched in the stomach before she ran out of consciousness. Standing over her was a guy in a dark brown coat with a skull mask over his head. The player smirked and proceeded to drag the knocked out Yulier and Thinker out of the scene.

In front of the gate of the Black Iron Castle were twelve other players in dark brown coat. However then a player with orange spiky haired appeared and approached the tallest man standing in the center of the group. He was Kibaou and he was definitely no please with what happened.

"Why don't you just kill them? It could really save us the trouble for us to kill them next time!"

"Shut up you arrogant fool." The man spoke, his voice deep and full of respectable aura, threatening Kibaou to argue with him. "Our objective was the girls inside, killing those two would only alert other Army players about our presence. If you know what is better for you, you better go and prevent anyone from coming in."

"...Chee..I got it."

Without complaining another word, Kibaou quickly left. The overwhelming aura of the man made his heart trembled. When he looked at the man's eyes just now he knew,

that was the eyes of a professional murderer.

"Boss, let's go already!" One of the members shouted excitedly, it was not a complain but a cry, a characteristic of his that told everyone that he was _player hungry._

Like the rest of them.

"That's right, we should not waste our precious time, should we?" The guy smirked and started to enter the gate with his members in tow. Brandishing his giant knife, the leader of the red guild announced the start of the hunt.

"_It's show time."_

* * *

**A/N: And finally, chapter 3 is finished! I was writing from 9 pm until 1 am and then 6am until 9:13am. I am dead tired...well not really tired actually since I am a night person.**

**Thanks for the 29 reviews guys! Sorry for the late update, that was due to my end of year exams but now that that was no more, I would be able to update more frequently than having you guys wait for one month (Okay that was kind of mean of me to let you guys to wait for one month...actually make that two months.)**

**Let me answer some questions...**

**Q: Is Lyfa/Sugu coming out?**

**AN: Still haven't decide yet. Let's see, I got Silica haven't met, Lisbeth still spamming Asuna's mail, Sinnon and Kiriko decided but not the proper timing yet for appearance yet. Ok, let's settle this with some reviews, you guys get to decide Lyfa/Sugu's character background, whether she was Kirito's sister or not. I will pick the most interesting one when the timing was right.**

**Q: 10 Unique skills?**

**AN: So there are 10 of them, I better change that after I update this chapter. Well although 7 is a good number, 10 will make things easier for me with Kirito's increasing Harem count XD**

**Q: Why in the name of Cardinal is Jabberwock in SAO?**

**AN: Just ignore it, it is just a crappy legend I thought up for the 10 Unique skills...**

**Q: Do you need any help? (Wait, nobody asked that!)**

**AN: XD, my test result is coming out tomorrow, it would be nice to have some blessings XD. **

**Now that we have 104 followers and 50 reviews, let's head all the way to 100th reviews! With one follower one review, 100th review would be in no time! Special Kirito X (?) chapter at the request of the 100th reviewer! (Though I can't guarantee it would be that long as compared to this one...)**

**Please Read and Review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Beater and the Black Cats of the Full Moon**

**Disclaimer: I** **do** **not own** **Sword Art Online**

**Warning: I** **am still studying so please** **forgive me if there is too much grammar mistake. It will also be appreciated if you would help correct my grammar mistakes.**

**Chapter 4**

**Bullet of Bullets**

Ten seconds ago, Kirito decided to get some fresh air and teleported himself out of his house.

"Teleport to Floor 63."

000

With the commotion about his dual blade and the idol Asuna joining his guild, most of the information broker and players would be outside of his house. The only logical choice of destination for him to go could only be the 63rd floor which he had just cleared. Newly opened floors tended to be deserted until a few days later when everyone was prepared to occupy the town of the new floor. In Kirito's case, having an entire town to himself without being chase by information brokers for even one day would be good enough.

_Hmm what should I do? I could go ahead and try up level outside or maybe I could find a place to take a nap...Nah that is too risky. I wondered if I could just sleep on top of a roof-_

"Onii-san! You are late!"

"Sword skill: Ukifune"

"Wha-Gua-haa!"

The first thing Kirito saw when he was teleported to the 63rd floor was a flash blue. The second thing he could only see was the clear blue sky, or rather the blue ceiling above the floor.

_What in the name of Kayaba happe-_

Before Kirito could complete his line of thought, he fell and crashed onto the ground. Even though he was inside a Anti-Criminal Code Effect Area, the sword skill and his fall to the ground delivered intense pain to his nerves. This is the second time he is attacked today. He realized that he should have stayed back home to take a nap instead of risking his life for fresh air.

Standing before Kirito was a girl slightly shorter than him. She have black, slightly to purplish, long hair to her shoulders with black eyes. Her armor was a black light armor suit with a white armor plating to protect her chest. In her hand was a black katana that was held against Kirito's throat.

"Ki-Kiriko!?" Kirito exclaimed in surprise. She was one of the first person on his ran-away list. With her katana now on his throat, he needed ways more than battling himself out to run away.

It has been a few months since he last saw her, there were occasions when the thought of meeting up with her again crossed his mind. However, he never got over his 'fear' of interacting with people and gave up. The last time he saw her was the time when he left her under the care of a certain girl because he was 'afraid' of having her with him.

As if he could lose her to anyone at any moment.

_Though you stalked her once in a few weeks to see how she was doing._

_Tink~!_

Before Kirito could reply to himself (Sachi), he instinctively rolled on the ground, missing the stab that would have left a cracked surface if the ground were not an immortal object. He quickly leapt up and brandished his proud Elucidator, his sword lowered at his personal stance, preparing to counter any of Kiriko's attack.

"Before I ask what is your objective of attacking me, can you stop calling me 'Onii-san'?" Kirito asked, his eyes never leaving Kiriko. "I am not really your brother in the first place."

"I can't help it." Kiriko smiled. "I am programmed to become such a character after all."

Kirito did not get to hear the rest- or rather, he did not expect to hear the rest as he deflected a slash formed by a straight line from Kiriko. Even though a player's hp would not drop in a Anti-Criminal Code Effect Area, he or she would still suffer the knockback from a skill. It was considered the most safest way for friends to fight with each other since their hp would not go down no matter what.

Friends. Even though it was not the proper term to call them, the two of them enjoyed their fight.

Kirito could not help but smiled. It has been quite some time since his last 'spying' and he realized that Kiriko has changed a lot since he left her. In the past she was quiet, as gloomy as the current him. However now as he continue to spar with her, he could see her bright smile on her face, enjoying the very second of the duel.

The katana came and aimed for his head. Kirito _knew _that it was going to happen and made a perfect dodge. The same happened to Kiriko as she stepped back to avoid a slash. The two were moving faster and faster, threatening and forcing into their optimum speed. Even though there was a speed limit placed on players, the two were trying to become even faster. Technique did not matter here. The only way to defeat each other was to become faster and faster than the other.

That's because both of them were of the 'same' people after all. It was as if they could read each other's thought and movement. Different color of skills flashed in the air. A small crowd of players has already gathered around them. Some of them were information brokers but were too afraid to approach their intense duel.

However as the duel continued, Kirito started to become more anxious. He has been thinking over what was Kiriko plotting. He knew that she has enough reason to attack him out of nowhere but...something felt wrong with the situation.

"Sword skill: Impaler."

_Kirito! Behind you!_

"Behin-Gua-Ah!"

The unexpected hit from his back and the annoying smirk on Kiriko's face told him that he has been tricked. He should have known that the 'other one' would be hidden and waiting for a chance to ambush him. The lance was stabbed 'into' his stomach, knocked him back in a straight line until he crashed into a wall.

As he struggled to resist the momentary pain and opened his eyes, two expected figures stood in front of him. The first was Kiriko. The other one was a girl with short blueish white hair with her lance resting on her shoulder. She was Sinon, the girl he has left Kiriko with. Both of them have a satisfied grin on their face. Kirito knew that he was not going to like what was going to happen next.

Kiriko took out a teleport crystal, one that was used to teleport a few people at once. Kirito widened his eyes and tried to escape but he was too late.

"Teleport to Ralback."

A faint blue light started to surround the three of them. Kirito attempted to escape the teleportation field but he was grabbed in the arms by the two girls. Soon, they were gone, leaving the information brokers behind cursing their misfortune and their stupidity for losing their chance for an interview.

ooo

"As I thought, you must be the reason..."

"Come on Kirito. It has been a few months since you came to visit us. What's wrong with taking the initiative to force you to visit us?"

"I am sure that what you just said is wrong in ways more than one."

In a room with a long table in the middle, a tall american player laughed, much to Kirito's annoyance. The room consisted of nine people. With the american and Kirito both sitting at the opposite ends of the table. Four other players sat on Kirito's left while three sat on his right with Kiriko and Sinnon sitting the closest to him.

Kirito looked around with the corner of his eyes. There was a window that was close to him. If he could make a distraction and jumped out of the window, he would be able to escape-

"Don't even thinking about jumping out of the window, Nii-san."

"...I really hate the fact that you are 'me'." Kirito sighed, recalled their first meeting. It brought back a lot of bad memories so Kirito decided to give in and handled the situation at hand.

"So what do you need me for, Satrizer?" Kirito asked without bothering to hide his uncomfortable expression.

Satrizer was the guild leader of the main Counter Player Killers Guild, the Bullet of Bullets. He was an american soldier-spy that came to Japan to test the Nerve Gear. Until a few months ago, he was a famous solo player who fought without weapons. However when his party members was killed by Pkers, he formed BoB to fight against the Pker guild, especially the Laughing Coffin. BoB was considered the second largest Guild after KoB, not including the unknown numbers of players that existed in the Laughing Coffin.

"I know you are annoyed that we force you to join us but this is urgent news." Satrizer answered. His gaze told Kirito that he was not here for some reunion. "This is a matter of life and death that may matter specially to the people around you, Kirito."

The joyful atmosphere of the room was faded in the blink of an eye and tension rose. Kirito changed his annoyed attitude and prepared himself for what Satrizer had to say.

_-may matter specially to the people around you_

Satrizer's words echoed in his mind. He knew that joking time was over. He suffered before. He let down of his previous ones before. He was not going to lose anyone this time.

Satrizer felt that the atmosphere around Kirito changed, he knew it was time he headed straight into the topic.

"The laughing Coffin are starting to get serious." Satrizer said with a stern face. "Our spies report that there was a mad increase of pk-ing during these two months. Known casualties are now over a hundre-"

"A hundred!? That's not possible!"

"That is the fact Kirito! I haven't even mention about the unknown deaths that happened these two months. We try to expand our guild to counter the Laughing Coffin but they are fast and unpredictable. The only pattern we learn is that the leader, PoH, tend to head for high level players that appeared in the newspapers."

Kirito is now starting to see what Satrizer really want to say.

Asuna, Argo and himself were in danger.

"The news of your Dual Blade Unique Skill and Asuna joining your Guild was spreading like wildfire. I have no doubt that PoH would target you and your guild as a revenge from our attack at their previous headquarter a few months ago." Satrizer finished.

"...Revenge..." Kirito muttered.

Satrizer was right. PoH would definitely take revenge. Kirito could still remember the duel he had with PoH last time. He and Kiriko, who he had just found, joined the attack formed by BoB against the Laughing Coffin. It was a terrible slaughter. They were ambushed by the Laughing Coffin and a lot of them lost their friends. Kirito himself almost died fighting against PoH if were not for the intervention of Kiriko.

Looking at Sinon at his right, her face was as white as her hair. Kirito knew that she must had recalled 'her'. He wanted to comfort her and patted her head. However in the end he could only sunk back further into his chair. There was nothing he could do. It was impossible for someone who let his guild members die to do anything.

"Sinnon."

"!"

"!"

At first Kirito thought his body disobeyed him again but only to realise otherwise when he heard that it was a feminine voice. Kiriko stretched her hand out and took Sinon's palm. Both Kirito and Sinon were surprised. Kiriko did not say anything else.

However Sinon could feel Kiriko's warmth traveling to her, comforting her broken heart. Sinon tightened her grip on Kiriko, she was afraid that she would left her alone again. Sinon laughed inside her heart. Kirito had left Kiriko under her care but it seemed that Kiriko was the one that was looking over her. The warmth on her hand now is different from the warmth she had before _she _died. She almost committed suicide when _she _died but it was Kiriko who was the one that kept on supporting her.

"Thank you...Kiriko..."

"Any time."

The two girls smiled at each other. Sitting beside Sinnon was Musketeer X, the only other female player in the room. Sinon snapped her head at her when she heard her grinning, only to start blush furiously when the others in the room decided to tease Sinon more by laughing at her emotional face. Despite being comforted, Sinon glared at Kiriko with a blushing face, only to earn another laugh from Kiriko much to her embarrassment.

In the middle of the laughing, Kirito watched Kiriko silently. It was just a small act that she has made but it has lightened up the mood of the room. Kirito realized that it was wrong to say that Kiriko has changed.

The truth is that Kiriko is starting to grow on her own now. She was starting to have her personal thoughts and personalities. She was no longer mere copy of him anymore. She has _moved on _from those feelings of losing someone important.

The meeting continued for a while until Satrizer decided to dismiss everyone. Since it has been quite a while since he was in the headquarter of BoB, he decided to stroll around the headquarters.

ooo

"...Is the wound healed?"

"Isn't it a bit too late to try to comfort me?" Sinon smirked. "And to answer your question, there is no way that it could have healed. No until I killed that bastard. Even after killing that bastard, I don't think it will heal that easily."

Standing outside the headquarter of BoB, Kirito and Sinon leaned into the wall and enjoyed the last sunlight for the day. Even though it was quite misty in floor nineteenth Ralback, the orange-red twilight was a sight for sore eyes.

Kiriko has gone to buy drinks, leaving the other two behind. A sudden impulse made Kirito tried to ask a question that he knew it would only brought back bad memories. Kirito cursed himself for his carelessness, accepted the scolding his mind (Sachi) has given him.

"Don't worry about it. It is quite a long time since we last talked to each other after all. I hear that your 'Dual Blade' skill is finally discovered. Must be nice to become a celebrity."

"No thanks to your sarcasms." Kirito complained. "It is a pain to avoid those information brokers from now on. And to think that I used to be the Beater whom everyone feared and don't dare to be close to."

"Well I am sure that after a few weeks, your popularity will die off eventually. I am quite surprised that you manage keep it a secret for so long. The only time I saw you used it was when you fought PoH one on one." Sinon's expression saddened. " I am glad that Kiriko and I arrived in time. I don't want to lose you to Pkers too."

Normally, Kiriko would have teased her for saying such a cheesy line but she knew that Kirito would not do it. Even though both of them were of the 'same' person, Kirito was different. Kiriko was just a 'copy', Kirito has experienced the true pain of losing his precious ones. That's why she knew that she could open up to Kirito. They were like cats licking each other wounds.

It was almost the same to Kirito's point of view. To Kirito, Sinon was a similar existence to Sachi to him. Both of them lost their precious ones. However Kirito has thoughts- guilt of his own.

"It's my fault." Kirito muttered under his breath, his head hung low as if ashamed to meet Sinon's gaze. "If I did not decide to keep it a secret...If I decided to use my dual blade openly without hesitation back then, Shino would have been save-"

_Slap!_

Kirito never got the chance to finish his words before Sinon slapped him, cutting him off his sentence and rendering him speechless. Sinon angrily approached Kirito and grabbed him by his collar.

"You fault? Don't screw with me!" Sinon shouted. "You are not the one that killed Nee-san! Stop pushing the blame to yourself!"

"But if I used dual blade earlier last time, Shino would have-!"

"Stop pushing the blame to yourself! Nee-san died and your dual blade has nothing to do with it!" Sinon continued. "Do you think I really need sympathy here!? None of the BoB members need sympathy. All of the members here are all those that lost their friends to Pkers. All of us here are more than ready to kill them to avenger our friends!"

Sinon glared at Kirito in the eyes. However after a moment, she began to calm down and let go of Kirito slowly.

"...Sorry about my outburst just now..." Sinon muttered. "...I just..."

"It's fine. I am the one at fault in the first place." Kirito answered.

This time, Kirito turned and stood in front of Sinon. His shadow by the twilight towering over the two of them. Kirito has a...saddened face as he looked at Sinon.

"Are you really ready to kill a Pker?" Kirito asked. "Even though they are a killer, they are still a player like us."

"You are too naive Kirito. The people that joined BoB are players that are ready to kill for vengeance." Sinon answered straight to Kirito's face without flinching. " 'Those who kill are the ones who are ready to be killed'. If we clash with the Laughing Coffin head on one day, we will have to kill them to ensure our own survival."

"Then are you really ready to kill Spiegel!?" Kirito continued. "When the time comes, can you pierce your lance through him?"

"!"

Sinnon twitched her eye. She could not give Kirito a clear answer. There was no way she could. She had refused to believe that Spiegel killed Shino but everything happened in front of him. She personally saw Spiegel piercing his rapier through her twin. There was no way she would forgive the murderer who killed her sister.

But the murderer was Spiegel.

He was her childhood friend.

Can she really kill him when the time come?

"Then do you think you can kill a Pker, Another player? I am not just talking about some serial killer like PoH, I mean normal Pkers when we clash with them again. Can you really end another person's life?" Sinon countered back.

"If I could, I would avoid killing them." Kirito answered without hesitation. "But if it risked getting any of my friends into danger, I will kill them. I have lost too many things already. I won't let anyone take anybody from me anymore."

Kirito's voice did not even waver when answered. Looking into Kirito's eyes, Sinon knew that it was the eyes of someone who was willing to sacrifice everything for the sake of his friends. He would not allow the same tragedy as Sachi or Shino to happen again.

Sinon realized, Kirito has changed as well. The change was probably recent, such as Asuna joining his guild but the one standing before her was not the one that was too afraid to have people to protect anymore. The Kirito standing before her now is the one that is willing to stand up from his past again to protect the ones previous to him.

She has to change herself too, or else she would never avenge Shino or protect the people she loved.

"Seriously. I went away just now to give you two private time together but was player killing the only thing you two could discuss?"

""Kiriko!""

Kirito and Sinon jumped when Kiriko's unexpected voice appeared behind Kirito. She was sucking onto the straw and staring at them with disappointed eyes. She had hoped that those two would maybe flirt with each other so she had rushed all the way to buy drinks and came back to watch the show. But in the end what she got was just some depressing talks about player killing. A program she may be, she certainly knew that 'player killing' stuff was not something that was normally discussed by a boy and a girl together alone.

"...Ah... ..."

Kirito, realized how close to Sinon he was, quickly back away. Both of them were blushing furiously while Kiriko was still sucking onto her strawberry milkshake. Just as Kirito and Sinon were fumbling for words to say, a ninja appeared before them.

"Yamikaze? What are you doing here? Aren't you on spying duty today?" Kiriko finished her milkshake and asked.

Yamikaze was the fastest ninja in their guild before Kiriko. He boosted his AGI all the way and used kunai to fight. Since he was the fastest player, he was responsible for spying the moment of the Laughing Coffin.

Right now, Yamikaze is breathing heavily. Seeing the look on his face, the three knew that something happened.

"The Laughing Coffin- PoH himself is in the Starting City! There are about twelve of them chasing after Asuna and two other girls in the dungeon under the Black Iron Castle!"

"Asuna! Argo!" Kirito shouted. "There is no time to waste! I will go first, Yamikaze please tell the others about it!"

Without a moment to lose, Kirito quickly opened his inventory and took out a teleportation crystal. Beside him, Sinon and Kiriko did the same.

"""Teleport to Starting City!"""

A faint blue light started to surround them, signalling the starting of the teleportation. Before Sinon teleported, Yamikaze quickly talked to her.

"Sinon...I saw XaXa just now...That means Spiegel would most probably be there..."

"Spiegel!" Sinon repeated. Her childhood friend's face appeared in her mind again.

No, Shinkawa Kyouji was dead the moment he entered SAO. The childhood friend she once had a crush on was gone.

"When I find him, I will kill him." Sinon replied without turning her head at Yamikaze again.

And then the three were gone. Yamikaze stood there for a while, reflecting on Sinon's words before heading into the headquarters to spread about the news about the return of PoH.

* * *

**A/N: And finally Chapter four is finished! Sorry for the delay guys but after chapter 3, it became a lot harder for me to write. Interestingly Yui is getting a lot of fans but I am sorry to say that Yui would not be appearing that early. She would definitely appear but it would take some time to build up the character of Asuna for it to happen. And since the existence of Yui is basically the prove of love between Asuna and Kirito, there may changes to the setting. **

**Let's make this fiction more fun! Here is our Heroine Count Meter!**

**Sachi: 100 (Obviously Sachi would have a head start. She would not be able to increase her Heroine count that easily anyway)**

**Asuna: 10 + 10 (Asuna defended Kirito and joined Kuroneko)**

**Yuuki X Asuna: Currently closed**

**Argo: 10 + 5 (Information about Unique Skills)**

**Kiriko: 20 **

**Sinon: 10 + 5 (Remind Kirito of Sachi)**

**Kiriko X Sinon: 10 + 10 (Kiriko comforted Sinon)**

**Let me answer some doubts again...**

**Q: Is this fiction AU?**

**A: A bit of AU, in terms of dragging every single character in the SAO universe. There would not be any OC- No Kiriko is not an OC, we even have her picture!**

**Q: Who is Satrizer and the rest?  
**

**A: For those that haven't read SAO novels, all the members in BoB are characters that played GGO in volume 5. Satrizer is the champoion of the forth(?) BoB mentioned in volume 9.  
**

**Q: Who is Kiriko? Why did she call Kirito 'Onii-san'?**

**A: Classified Information~ And I can't wait for Suguha to appear! Imouto Fight! XD!**

**Q: Why did you destroy Lambent Light?**

**A: My bad, my bad. I rushed the story too quick. That is the reason why I can't update fast. Even now I am struggling with the plot of next chapter. Read below for further details.**

**Route choosing!**

**Absolute Sword Route **

** -Kirito X Asuna route increase by 10**

** -Asuna gained Absolute Sword**

**Musketeer Girls Route **

** -Yuuki joined Kuroneko**

** -Yuuki X Asuna route open (basically little friendship moments and funny Yuuki vs Kirito jealousy route)  
**

** -Changes made back to chapter 3 to restore Lambent Light**

**Well a bit of pity since there is a drop of reviews (though there is significant increase in followers) I will choose the route with the most reviews! Place your choice of Routes everyone!**

**Please Read and Review!**


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